Burial vault



June 5, 1934. A. F. H. SCOTT 1,961,983

BURIAL VAULT Filed April 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Z M JoazfPatented June 5, 1934 BURIAL VAULT Allison F. H. Scott,

Pleasantville, N. Y.

Application April 8, 1933, Serial No. 665,143

.2 Claims.

This invention relates to burial vaults and containers generally for theburial of dead bodies, and consists in an improvem nt in structure, incon sequence of which the hermetic seal of the union of the containerparts may be rendered more effective and|more durable.

Fig. I is a view partly in end elevation and partly in cross-section ofa vault in which my invention is embodied; Fig. 11 is a fragmentary Viewon the same plane of section and to larger scale; Fig. III is a Viewcorresponding to Fig. II, though at a different point in the extent ofthe union of the parts, and illustrating a permissible variation; Fig.IV is a View corresponding to Fig. II, though also at a different pointin the extent of the union of the parts, and illustrating a feature ofadaptability; Fig. V is a view on a like plane of section through therim of the upper or cover portion of the vault, and illustrating apermissible elaboration.

The container of my invention, which, ordinarily, will be the vault ofestablished usage-that is to say, the outer container, within which thecorpse-containing casket is inclosed, and upon which the earth of theusual burial immediately rests,consists of two imperforate shells 1 and2, formed preferably of cast-iron, and meeting in a horizontallyextending seam 3. The seam is hermetically tight, and, accordingly, whenburial has been made, the contents of the vault are inaccessible to airand moisture from without. The meeting edges are provided withco-operating tongue and groove; the groove is of such depth that in theassembly the tip of the tongue will not reach its bottom. In theassembly the descending cover will come to rest with abutment at theedge of tongue and groove, while still the tip of the tongue remainsrelatively remote, spaced at a greater interval from the bottom of thegroove. Either of the two possible arrangements may be employed: thegroove may be in the base member or in the cover member, and the tonguein cover or base, as may be preferred. These all are known features orcharacteristics.

My invention consists in so particularly shaping tongue and groove thatas the cover descends to position upon the base member the space formedby and between tongue and groove shall diminish on one side of thetongue more rapidly than on the opposite side; with the consequence andeffect that there will be a flow of the plastic material (ordinarilypitch), which has been preliminarily applied, beneath the tongue andover one rim of the groove at one side; and, with proper shaping ofparts, a more secure sealing may be effected.

Comparing Figs. I and II, it will be perceived that, whereas theopposite walls 4 and 5 of the groove (formed in this case in base member2) are of equal inclination to the vertical, the walls 6 and '7 of theco-operating tongue are unequal in inclination. The angle formed by andbetween surfaces 6 and '7 of the tongue is greater than that formed byand between the surfaces 4 and 5 of the groove. In the assembly theopposite surfaces at and '7 diverge from rim to groove bottom, while thesurfaces 5 and 6 extend in substantial parallelism. It will be perceivedthat, in consequence of this lack of correspondence, as the coverdescends upon the base the space between tongue and groove narrows, andthat it narrows more rapidly upon one side (the outer) than upon theother side (the inner). The effect upon an included body of plastic,such as pitch, is manifest. It is like squeezing a tube at one end: thecontents are consolidated, the whole body is caused to flow from oneside, across the bottom of the groove, and out at the opposite rim ofthe groove; entrapped air is dislodged, and the plastic material isextruded. At the point of such extrusion shoulders 8 and 9 are formed:flat surfaces, disposed horizontally. These shoulders 8 and 9 are sodisposed that in the assembly the space between them is not greater thanthe space interval (measured in the direction of closure) between anyother points on the two shells. Between them as a mouth the extrusion iseffected, and they ultimately sustain the weight of the cover, and underthat weight the body of fluid-sealing material (pitch) is compressed,with augmentation of sealing effect.

Let then the tongue-and-groove union upon opposite sides be brought intosimultaneous considerat'ion. and let it be supposed that the descendingcover 1 has not descended in accurately vertical course to its ultimateposition, but let it be assumed that on the right (Fig. I) the tip ofthe tongue initially approaches contact with the outer rim of thegroove; and that, correspondingly, of course, on the opposite side, thetongue will approach contact with the inner rim of the groove. As thenthe cover continues to descend it will be the outer wall of the grooveon the right-hand side that will be the guiding member; and, while onthe right the condition already described of more rapid narrowing of thespace in the outer side of the groove will prevail, it will be remarkedthat on the opposite, left-hand side, the opposite faces 5 and 6 oftongue and groove will actually drawapart, and that on both sides thesame effect will be gained, of a flow of sealing material through thegroove inwardly and over the inwardly disposed surfaces 8.

The inner rim of the groove is, for purposes already indicated,flattened; the outer rim, in order to facilitate assembly, is rounded.The rounded ends at the four corners of the perimeter of the rim of thebasal member, due to the relation of the acute inclination of the tonguein the shell member, further act to facilitate the easily selfsealing ofthe members due to the weight of the the shell member bearing on theplastic sealing means in the groove of the basal member.

Consideration of Fig. 11 will, in the light of what has been said, makeplain that in the closing of the vault the same conditions obtain: theouter rounded rim of the groove is effective to shift the descendingcover laterally (if it be slightly out of line) rapidly to trueposition; the space between tongue and groove narrows more rapidly onthe outer side, with the effect that the body of plastic material(pitch) engaged by tongue and groove is caused to flow inward, and isconsolidated; bubbles of entrapped air work out from the bottom of thegroove; there is augmented extrusion over the horizontally disposedinner rim of the groove, and the meeting faces of cover and base alongthese inner margins afford in larger measure sealing effect. The absencefrom the outer rim of the tongue-andgroove union of such opposedhorizontally disposed surfaces as the surfaces 8 and 9 at the inner rimeffects concentration of the sealing pressure upon the body of sealingmaterial extruded between the surfaces 8 and 9.

If then at any point the quantity of sealing substance (ordinarilypitch) be relatively little, the tendency of the closing lid to extrudewhat there is between the approaching surfaces 8, 9 will tend to correctthe deficiency and more certainly to insure adequate sealing.

The characteristic is that on one side (the inner side) of thetongue-and-groove union the opposed surfaces, because of their relativedegrees of inclination, approach one anot er with relative slowness,while on the opposite side (the outer side) the opposed surfaces, forthe same reason, approach one another more rapidly.

Certain incidental features remain to be in-- dicated. Thetongue-and-groove union involves an increase in the thickness of the twoshells at their rims. The enlargement is, as the drawings show,external. The enlargement of the edge of the lower shell or base portionaffords opportunity to form at that point a downwardly turned exteriorlip 10, adapted to be engaged by hooks, for the purpose of lowering thispart to position in a grave. Similarly the outward enlargement of thecover may be provided with an upwardly turned lip 11, and the two lips10 and 11 may then be employed co-operatively to receive a clampingmember 12 (Fig. IV), useful particularly when such a vault is to beshipped.

Fig. V shows, additionally, that the cover 1 may be thickened adjacentits rim for the application, by means of set-screws, and without breakin the integrity of the shell, of handles 12, useful in lifting thecover and carrying it, before it is engaged by lowering apparatus.

Externally, ornamental bands 13, 14 may be formed as integral parts ofthe castings, and through the bands 13 with which the cover shell is soornamented perforations 15 may extend. where anchorage may be had forlowering the cover 1 to place upon the basal shell 2 when the latter hasalready been placed at the bottom of an open grave. With the provisionof such perforations 15, the handles 12 may or may not be employed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A container for a corpse to be buried, consisting of two shellsadapted to be brought together along a horizontally extending seam-line,the two shells at their rims being of complementary tongue-and-grooveshape, the tongue being of wide angular taper and short and the groovebeing of narrow angular flare and deep, one of such complementary partsbeing oblique in extent and in that respect unlike the companion part,whereby, in assembly, a space is defined by and between tongue andgroove that is wider at the bottom than at the edges of the groove, andwhereby the weight of the upper shell, brought to bear upon a body ofplastic sealing material introduced into such space, eifects flow of thesealing material from one side of the groove, transversely across thebottom of the groove, toward the other side, and extrusion of thesealing material through the narrow space at the edge of the groove.

2. A container for a corpse to be buried, consisting of two shellsadapted to be brought together along a horizontally extending seam-line,the two shells at their rims being of complementary tongue-and-grooveshape, the tongue being of wide angular taper and short and the groovebeing of narrow angular flare and deep, the tongue from its base to itstip extending obliquely in inward direction, toward the interior of thecontainer, and the groove being vertical in its extent, whereby, in theassembly, a space is defined by and between tongue and groove that iswider at the bottom than at the edges of the groove, and whereby theweight of the upper shell, brought to bear upon a body of plasticsealing material introduced into such space, effects flow of the sealingmaterial from the outer side of the groove, across the bottom of thegroove, toward the other side, and compacting of the sealing material inthe narrow space at the inner edge of the groove.

ALLISON F. H. SCOTT.

